EDUC 5553 COIN5

Topics in Counselling: Clinical Mental Health for School Counsellors

Access: Open to past and present MEd Counselling students with a prerequisite of 50C3 FA01  School Counselling Programs. Students who have taken 50K3 FA01 Clinical Mental Health Counselling can not get credit for this course because of the similarities.

This asynchronous course will provide students with an overview of the various components of clinical mental health counselling as it relates to the school counsellor. This includes identifying specific mental health diagnoses associated with childhood and adolescence to enable quicker referral; preparing case conceptualizations; choosing empirically supported interventions; developing and implementing effective treatment plans in the school context; and understanding consultation models utilized in schools. This course will aim to assist students in gaining knowledge and understanding of clinical mental health in Canada and issues faced by schools, families, and students. Students will be asked to critically explore ethical issues and diversity relevant to the role of school counsellor working with children and youth experiencing mental health challenges. Students will engage in critical analysis of the advances and tensions related to assessment and diagnosis of mental health challenges, with a focus on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revised (DSM-5-TR). The intent is to give students the language to competently engage in wraparound service provision for children and youth. Students will be asked to consider the DSM-5-TR, not as a tool to define or diagnosis students, but as a way of communicating with other helping professionals and their students. Students will learn the importance of working with other mental health professionals to accurately capture students’ symptomology and understand diagnoses, as well as be an active part of an interdisciplinary team-based approach designed to implement effective interventions to support children and youth in schools.

Instructor: Birdie Bezanson

Location: Online; Open-Entry